Incident at Devil’s Glen

On Sunday October 8th 2017, an individual was seriously injured in a climbing related incident at Devil’s Glen Provincial Park. The rescue response was led by local Emergency Medical Services, who arrived on the scene promptly. Several climbing parties guided the response team to the victim and helped clear debris, facilitating and improving evacuation conditions for the response team and the injured climber.

Evacuations from most Ontario climbing areas, including Devil’s Glen, are always complicated endeavours. Climbers must recognize that evacuations are difficult and often lengthy. Therefore climbers must also recognize the importance of their personal and party safety and take appropriate precautions while climbing in Ontario. Helping our fellow climbers in time of need is a deeply ingrained part of our climbing culture. We ask all climbers to join us in wishing the best possible outcome for the injured climber.

The Ontario Access Coalition extends a sincere thank you to all Emergency Medical Services and individuals who took part in the successful evacuation. As representatives of the Ontario climbing community, the Ontario Access Coalition looks forward to working with Emergency Response Services, land managers and local communities to facilitate continued improvement of evacuations and high angle rescue scenarios.